Pipeline 2 Paradise Radio

Instead of creating a special music montage like I usually do, I thought that this intro taken directly from the "EA" release would give justice best when describing the vibe of Sudden Rush. Maximum respects to Sudden Rush for taking time out to share mana'o with the listeners of Pipeline 2 Paradise Radio.

The Saga Continues - "EA"

"Love us or hate us, we're still here!"

(April 2006)

I remember back in 1992 – 1993 when I was studying the Hawaiian language at UH Manoa. My Kumu made it homework for the class to go out and listen to the music of a new group that rapped in Hawaiian named Sudden Rush. His exact words back then was “I’ve never heard music filled with so much mana!” So being the good haumana that I was I sought out the music of Sudden Rush.

I believe the first song I heard from them was "Don't Blame The Youth." Immediately I vibed with their style and was quite amazed I might add over their unique ability to use the olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) in their music. Not long after I had the opportunity to witness and hear them perform for the first time at a concert at the Waikiki Shell. To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. The energy, excitement, and the way they commanded the stage really impressed me and from that day forward I became a permanent fan of Sudden Rush.

The Hip-Hop Hawaiians as I call them stood out amongst the rest with their innovative style. It almost seemed like every song that they came out with packed a powerful message. I found myself connecting with their message in their music. I realized why my kumu made such a bold statement about their music. Sudden Rush quickly seperated themselves in a positive light in a period known as the "Jawaiian" wave. I couldn't quite explain their music to family and friends, but just to say that it moved me.

In 2005 I had the privilege of meeting Don Ke'ala Kawa’auhau Jr. aka King Don 1 Da Rappanui at the Pure Aloha Festival here in Las Vegas. I was selling Hawaiian cd's which included Sudden Rush's "EA" cd. He stopped by and we briefly shared mana'o and exchanged business cards. It wasn't until nearly a year later (A few weeks back) that I decided to contact him and ask if Sudden Rush would be interested in doing an online interview. Being the lokomaika'i person that he is, he agreed to spearhead the efforts. Overwhelmed with excitement knowing that my listeners worldwide was in for a special treat I sent the questions off. How fitting was it that I received their responses a day before the Pure Aloha Festival 2006. They were scheduled to perform along with Fiji, Bonafide, and the Kekai Boyz. What can I say, but 13 years later and the energy and excitement level was still there. Every person in the crowd was captivated by their performance, including myself. While I was watching them all I could think of was I can't wait to share their exstensive interview with my listeners. I could go on and on telling you how blessed and gifted these guys are, but I have a feeling through their complete and well expressed responses you'll quickly see and feel what I'm saying!

With that I'll let you dive into the minds of these Hip Hawaiians and hope you personally "Feel The Rush" reading their thoughts as I did. Mahalo nui to Sudden Rush for taking time out of their busy schedule to connect back with their fans via Pipeline 2 Paradise Radio worldwide!

Describe the unique musical vibe of Sudden Rush?

The thing that makes our music unique is that it doesn’t just fall into one category. Not just lyrically but also in the feelings we convey through our music and performance. If you just listen to the music without the words it could fall in any category. Rap, listen to our words they tend to open up. Another compliment that we always hear is “I don’t listen to rap but I like you guys” That’s always good to hear. One thing that did surprise me when it Reggae etc. But when we put our words to the music, whether it’s spreading a message or just talking about having fun, people tend to relate and understand what we’re saying and feeling no matter what race they are or where there from. The message in our music seems to have a universal appeal. Even to people who aren’t Hawaiian or have no idea what it is to live in Hawai’i. They still tend to relate to the “feeling” of the music.

I always refer to your music as “Music with a Message.” What would you say is the main message of your music?

The main message is pride in being Hawaiian. There was a time when being Hawaiian was looked down upon. Now it seems that everybody wants to be Hawaiian or be involved in our culture and our movement. This is cool but we also want to promote pride in what ever race you are. Every culture has its good and bad. But you can’t change what you are. So be proud of your race and culture first. All people are welcome in our struggle but never try and be something that you’re not. To the Hawaiian people, where ever you are, remember, we come from a noble race and should always be proud of that. And,very important, unity. Until we are one voice, Hawaiians, we will not gain what is rightfully ours. Our leaders need to do what ever they have to get unified. One voice is how it will happen.

How important is it to include the Hawaiian language in your music?

The Hawaiian language is very important. It not only sets us apart from other music and bands but it is just something that comes naturally. We don’t write a song and then say “o.k., now I gotta put some Hawaiian words in here.” The ‘olelo Hawai’i just comes when it does. It shows up when it wants to and when I try to think of something else to put in place of a Hawaiian word for whatever reason it’s actually harder to do. We’ve also heard of people learning or wanting to learn the language because they heard it in our music. That is one of the ultimate compliments we could get.

When first releasing your music not everyone in the Hawaiian language/music realms agreed with your style of music. To some RAP=Violence. Recall both positive and negative feedback on your music.

We’ve mostly received positive feedback. But we’re not naïve and think that everybody loves what we do. And the negative feed back we heard was always second hand. I guess it’s easier to talk bad about somebody when you’re not doing it to their faces. We know there are a lot of people who don’t like rap music because of its negative stereotype but once people actually listened to our words they tend to open up. Another compliment that we always hear is " I don't listen to rap, but I listen to your guys." That's always good to hear. One thing that did surprise me when it first happened was when we got negative feedback from some Hawaiians who said that we shouldn’t do rap with the Hawaiian language. At first it was hard to take but we know what we do is positive and the reason for doing what we do is positive and any negative feedback we get now just fuels our fire to do more. At first a few people were saying that it wasn’t right to put the Hawaiian language with something that wasn’t traditional. If that’s the case then most of the “Hawaiian music” now shouldn’t be done either. The guitar, the electric bass, pianos, keyboards all are not traditional instruments either. If the instruments make the music traditional than everybody would be using ‘ili’ili instead of the ‘ukulele. (Which is also not traditional. The Portuguese invented the 'ukulele. Represent for my Portuguese side.) A few people also didn’t like the idea of us redoing certain songs like Hi’ilawe and Kaulana Na Pua. We not only went through the proper legal channels but also the pono way by talking to the ‘ohana and some kupuna and asked their advice before doing these songs. My tutu said it was o.k. and like Uncle Martin Pahinui says on our cd, “If they don’t like it then tough laulau”. A few people told us they never heard the song Hi'ilawe or Hawaiian Eyes until they heard our version. Then they got interested in the original and listened to that too. That's one reason why we do some of the songs that we do.

Who currently makes up Sudden Rush?

Sudden has and always will be Shane Veincent aka Dynomite Da Wattaman, Caleb Richards aka Da Redeye Rebel and myself, Don Ke’ala Kawa’auhau Jr. aka King Don 1 Da Rappanui. The three of us have been through a lot together and I think that’s why we’re still here. Currently we’ve been performing with our DJ Audissey, a young talented musician who adds a lot on stage and sistah Bufo who we feel is one of the best female rappers in the state. She’s working on her own cd and will be with us until she blows up and forgets about us. Nah. She adds a lot to our show and we’re happy to have her.

Individually, who are the influences that have shaped your musical style?

Of course, we are all influenced by the Hawaiian music we listened to growing up. As far as our other influences back in the day I used to listen to all kinds of music and still do today. Heavy D, Naughty by Nature, Ice Cube was my early influences. It’s hard to find rap groups now that can influence me like before. It seems rap has become all hooks and no substance. So anything that has meaning is what I’ll listen to. I like Kanye West, Eminem (I don't agree with a lot of stuff that he says but you can not deny his lyricism and talent) but if I had to pick one then it’s all about the Fugees. In my opinion they’re one of the most innovative groups ever. Dynomite would say that Method Man is “the man”. Redeye has his influences also including the one and only Bob Marley. Also, life has been the ultimate influence for all of us.

The uniqueness and excitement of Sudden Rush has generated many collaboration interests with other talented Island artists. Share some mana’o on a few of these collaborations.

The idea to collaborate with different artists came from listening to rap artists collaborating with each other. We felt that if we can have certain artists do hip-hop with us who normally wouldn’t do our type of music we can open up our music to a whole other genre. We could go on forever with the stories of working with people like Keali’i Reichel, Fiji, Amy Gilliom, John and Guy Cruz, John Osorio, Uncle Willie K. Natural Vibes, Ho’onu’a and so on. All I’m gonna say is that the mana that these people have brought to our music can not be put into words. They blessed us with their talents and time and we would love to work with any of them again. We are talking to other musicians for our new project so be ready for some surprises.

Your collective talents have enabled Sudden Rush to travel far and wide. Where are some of the more memorable places Sudden Rush has performed and why?

We travel to Vegas once a year for the Pure Aloha concert. We’ve been to different areas in California, Oregon, Johnston Island and have plans in the near future to go to Japan and other islands in the Polynesian triangle. We're ready and willing to spread our music and message anywhere in the world. We enjoy every place that we visit but a couple places that stick in our mind are the Reggae on the River concert in upper California. Everyone there was cool and everything was pretty much legal. It was crazy. The other place was the Teen Choice Awards in Hollywood. We did the whole red carpet thing and met a lot of celebrities. That was fun.

The success of your most recent CD release “EA” is confirmed with selections surfacing in the A&E hit series “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Individually or collectively, do you feel the show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” represents Hawaii in a positive light?” (I want to point out the key phrase in this question is "represent Hawaii" and not "represent Hawaiians." That's 2 completely different worlds. )

When we first heard that our music was gonna be on the show we were stoked. It's the number one show on A&E and when we saw the show and heard our songs it was unreal. Then I watched the show more and more and were blown away by some of the things I saw when it came to the locals being arrested. Most of them on ice. I've seen this before in my life and it was just weird to see it unfold on TV. Although the show does show a lot of negatives when it comes to the fugitives being captured. It also shows some of the beauty of Hawai'i. As far as representing Hawai'i in a positive light, I think it shows the reality of one side of Hawai'i that is an epidemic today. Ice use and abuse is a major problem which we experienced first hand. Would I like the ice problem to go away? Yes. Is it a real problem in Hawai'i today? Yes. Maybe this show will help bring more awareness to the problem and help solve it. And, we're in the works now to play at Dog's wedding this summer. Look out for that one.

Does it make it a bigger challenge to cross over nationally and internationally being labeled as Hip-hop artists from Hawaii?

I think it's a help and a hindrance. It helps because it is original and that is always good. It's a hindrance because it doesn't fall in an easy category to sell. Whatever the case we're gonna keep doing what we do and keep trying to spread the message.

Is another CD release in the near future for Sudden Rush?

We're currently working on a new cd and a best of remix cd that should be out within the next year.

Though I’m sure there are many years ahead together as a group, when the dust settles, how do you want Sudden Rush to be remembered!

We want to be remembered as three local bruddahs who tried, through all people. We've made kupuna cry and children proud. We've made some haters love us and some haters hate us more. We are a part of the puzzle. Their are warriors and politicians, writers and teachers, fighters and lovers. We try to incorporate all of that in our music. We are the messengers, the voice of a people who are not always heard all the time. Love us or hate us, we're still here. For the people, for the 'aina, for Hawai'i. Hopefully we're not the last to do this type of music. But we are the first and we will keep going as long as we can to tell the story of our people past and present. UNITY, Hawaiians, UNITY!!!!!!

What advice can you give to upcoming artists to remain successful in this industry?

There is a lot of advice we could give so I'll try and keep it short. First, always be true to what you're doing. Especially if you’re doing rap music. People can tell when you're not being honest with your music. Respect everyone unless they don't show you respect back. Move on to someone else who will respect you. Don’t trust so easily. When you find people you can trust keep them close and always make sure they can trust you. Also, local style handshake deals are cool but we've been taken advantage of too many times because we did things casually. Now we make sure we're covered legally and choose our casual dealings more carefully. Remember that the music business is ruthless. When you're hot everyone wants you. When you're not then you see who your true friends are. Everyone wants to make money and if you're not careful a lot of people can get rich off of your hard work. If you can afford it get a lawyer. If not get somebody to help with your contracts. Be careful of crooked labels who promise a lot and deliver only what's in the contract. Legally they’re covered but there's other ways of bringing justice to where there is none. Remember that. You know who you are. Always have fun while recording and performing. Everything else can be stressful but it's all worth it when you see people dancing and smiling to your music. Don’t expect everyone to like your music. Everyone has an opinion and you'll hear rumors and stuff about you that might get you mad or upset. Remember, any publicity is good publicity. Like I say, whether you’re talking good or bad about us as long as you’re talking about us. Make sure you spell our names right. Don’t do your music to win awards. We were nominated for 3 Hoku's for Ku'e and 0 for EA and EA is definitely a better cd than Ku’e. Our music just does not fit in any category that would justify a Hoku. And we like it that way. Don't get me wrong, to win any award including a Hoku would be cool but the biggest reward is seeing and hearing the responses of our friends and fans at shows, in person or on the internet. That beats any award. Maybe we should play some slack key. Then maybe we could be up for a Grammy. Just joking. LOL. And no matter what always trust in Ke Akua and never give up.

Any other major projects going on individually or as a group?

Aside from our new cd we're working on Sudden Rush multi-media. Trying to help people in the business not make some of the mistakes we made. Also a TV show called Rush Hour TV. A back stage pass to the music scene with Sudden Rush. All of us have some personal ventures we’re going into as well. I’ll continue working at KWXX radio on the Big Island and wrestling on the side as a hobby. Dynomite is mean with the tattoo needle. Redeye has songs that would blow up when he does a solo cd. Something we're also looking at doing under the Sudden Rush label.

Individually: (Favorite phrase, NFL Team, Beach, Food, American Idol contestant past or present)

I don't watch football. Strictly pro wrestling. So my favorite wrestler is the Undertaker. Favorite food is anything low carb. Favorite phrase is He Hawai’i Au. I like any beach with sand and not rocks. Favorite TV show is Lost. Favorite American Idol contestant is Fantasia. Although I do support the local girls Jasmine and Camille. Although I can not stand reality shows. Dyno’s favorite NFL team is the Miami Dolphins. They went undefeated the years he was born. Reuben Studdard is his favorite idol. Favorite food is anything with rice. Phrase is "Love us or hate us. We're still here.” Favorite beach is any beach down Keaukaha. Redeye's team is the Vikings.

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